God is the Responsive Universe – Let me explain…

What is the dictionary definition of God? “A supernatural being: One of a group of supernatural male beings in some religions, each of which is worshiped as the personification or controller of some aspect of the universe”. Okydoky… now mind you, I am not an atheist but that definition just does not serve my spiritual needs… I agree it is a condensed definition but never the less; it is a definition in our English Dictionary.

So I regress a bit… I really did not enjoy math in college. It was hard to understand and truthfully I have always been impressed with mathematicians and astrophysicists who use math to unravel some of the Universes most intriguing puzzles. In college and even now, I find it useful but somewhat tedious. Still, math is incredibly important for breaking down percentages, measurements and yes religion and philosophy.

Now, I tweeted a bold comment recently:

“When you reduce religion to the most common denominator you have the Universe. Add conscious thought and you have a Responsive Universe… “

After I clicked the tweet button I immediately prepared for the worst. Surprisingly the reaction was quiet and most people agreed and even added their own contributions. My twitter nation is an educated group of yogis, health food fanatics and spiritual minds mixed in with people of overlapping interests. Still, I find I need to explain my definition of God as it relates to the Responsive Universe because after all I wrote a book about it all.

Now imagine you take the top four religions which depending on data are Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Now, I think everyone would agree that these religions all worship a deity in some form that created man and Earth. Each religion has an explanation of our origin and where we go when we die. Each religion has morals and guidelines, gurus and priests. I think people would also agree that religion is inherent to a specific region and a specific cultures spiritual needs and over thousands of years indigenous societies mold and amend these beliefs into the modern religions they are today. It is all kind of the same stuff right?

Now let’s add a little math to the discussion. Just like fractions, let’s reduce those top four religions down to their most common denominator. Reduce them beyond humans, even Earth. Let’s reduce religion or God to its source – the beginning of time as we know it… The Big Bang… Why do we need to break religion down to its most reduced form? Because whatever created the Universe created man who in turn created religion. Still, people tend to interject emotions, opinions and dogma into this discussion. “well the Bible says this”… well the Quran says that”. But you see, math does not deal in dogma, opinions and emotions. Math deals with numbers that add up to solutions that make sense on paper.

So, when you reduce Religion to its most common denominator you have the Universe. Now you could equate this as God and trust me, I do! But people tend of talk of God as a “He” or a “Who”. But in math, God just is…. There is nothing more and there is nothing less. God is the Universe and the Universe is…. People tend to struggle with that concept due to the ego which needs to attach dogma, fear and emotion to the concept of God.

Here is where it gets fun. God (the Universe) created an environment for conscious thought to arise from nothing. You want to talk about miracles? There is nothing more miraculous than conscious thought arising from nothing. People tend to think only a divine interest could create such an environment. But that is not necessarily true. You see; conscious thought connects with energy at the subatomic level and there is an instinctual quality to it that transcends humans and Earth. I explain it in-depth in the third chapter of my book, The Responsive Universe. The point is; through experience and mindfulness we connect to the energy of the Universe which is like our True Nature; constant and unwavering. It is okay if we do not fully understand its workings. Settling into the vastness of it all and understanding that we are connected to it is enough for now. Once we settle into the vastness, we often find that the idea of organized religion for us becomes unnecessary and weighted. The concept of God and the exact workings of the Universe may simply not be understandable in human terms. The Universe is the totality of all that exists, of all that existed before, and all that will come to exist in the future. What an immense trinity! The New Testament in western religion is based around a similar trinity – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As you ponder all of this, consider a new interpretation of that trinity that transcends religion. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are different words for the Past, the Present, and the Future, or Death, Birth, and Regeneration. We sit in the Universe in the present with past and future horizons expanding rapidly beyond us (red shift). How do we explain it all? How do we find meaning in a realm that is so vast we can’t even fully comprehend it? We find meaning in the connections that bind the paradoxes of life; the unity of the Mandala: God, the Universe, and True Nature are not three separate phenomena we must strive to understand; they are one and the same.

God is energy and therefore humans are energy… connected as one in a vast matrix of light and matter with a dash of instinctual consciousness that transcends earthly dogma. That is the definition of a Responsive Universe; where science explains karma and an afterlife; where energy and love heal and allow us to evolve.

Dave – Great insight – I will be bold and say Religion in many ways blocks God. It makes people follow instead of leading. From my experience it is also the ego that blocks all that is authentic and sublime as it relates to your true-self. The ego colors our perspectives on everything. Only when you can stretch those gaps between your thoughts will you settle into your True Nature. Almost all of our thoughts deal with the past, future, fear and fantasy – all of this is your ego (and my ego). We do this unknowingly most of the time. The ego and our false-perceptions color our idea of God… What is God but a three letter word? I tend not like the word “god” either because it carries this dogmatic quality to it.. But in the interest of reaching the general public using the word Universe in reference to God tends to throw people off – they are not comfortable with it like you and I are. What is God? God is the Universe… God everything… the Universe is everything… Yes! having an open mind allows for all possibilities. Even the word agnostic is a loaded term. Like you, I am agnostic in the sense I believe in god(universe) but just can’t follow the dogma and trappings of organized religion. Energy, God as it relates to the Universe is immense. Are we so bold and egoistical that we understand it all? Of course not, but we can revel in the immensity of it all. We can have confidence that we are a part of the grand beauty that is everything. We can have faith in an afterlife because science proves it! We are not just a part of the Universe but consciously a part of the Universe – we can wield energy, feel love and connect to something so big it just boggles the mind. Maybe that is not God.. maybe it just is… and therefore you and I are…. It could be that simple? If it feels right, then you are on the right path – JCB

A very good post, and I found myself nodding in recognition of much of what you wrote. Chief among those recognitions was that you and I are using different words for the same thing: what I call Nature, you call Universe. What I’m curious about, after having read your post, is how you reconcile this concept with polytheism; or perhaps more appropriately, how would you explain this to a polytheist?

I actually like the idea of polytheism. Especially in ancient times when our scope of knowledge was isolated to a specific region and culture – worshipping the sun for warmth and energy for example; worshipping fire for its energy and capabilities, etc. I believe it still all comes down to the energy that surrounds us and also the energy within. Even when you reduce polytheism down to its most common denominator you have the Universe or Nature or the basis of everything. Polytheism is just another interpretation for the same energy that exists and is everything from a spiral galaxy light years away and an atom in your body. The source may be the same but how we as individuals interpret the energy is governed by our own intimate and spiritual needs. It is okay to believe in anything as long as it was you that came to this belief and it was not learned through ego and social conditioning. You can believe in anything you want so long as it feels right and you are evolving as a person; free of fear and full of confidence – JCB

Love the article, I have just written an ebook based on the same idea, and I know we are the key to our own power and key to all information, allowing ourselves to face this and then moving with this in the realisation of our energetic makeup changes the experience and brings clarity beyond anything you have been ‘told’. Acknowledging oneness means letting go of ego, thats the difficult bit. It is so vast, new learning takes time, actively sitting in stillness will help.

I agree that God is the Universe and the Universe is God. I propose that God is a form of energy that has not yet been discovered by mankind. A form of energy that is an integral part of every type of matter in the universe,can manipulate such matter and is aware of itself as the god of our Universe. Our very own consciousness can similarly transcend our dead bodies when we die and return to that same state from which we came, which is a form of that same energy, somewhat like the Holy spirit and other supernatural beings that exist without a natural body.
Mankind is barely scratching the surface when it comes to understanding the characteristics of Dark Matter and other phenomenon outside of our solar system. Given enough time Science may someday realize the existence of God as a form of energy.

Hi Chris – I totally agree. I have written how God (Universe) is dynamism of instinctual energy that connects every atom and quark at the subatomic level. We are just beginning to scratch the surface but already there are theories out there that support qualities like an afterlife, karma and prayer. As you delve into deeper meditation and energy healing you may find you can already connect to these energies that exist – we are all connected and it is a sublime intricacy that incorporates conscious thought with all that is the Universe.